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What These Homeowners Were Dealing With
If you are looking for a practical guide on how to soundproof a bedroom from noisy neighbours, this is a real installation walkthrough showing exactly how it is done.
The homeowners were hearing clear conversation from next door. Not just a murmur through the wall but enough to make out individual words. They described it as feeling like they were lying in a tent. Dog barking, gatherings next door, TV late into the evening, all of it was coming through clearly enough to keep them awake and on edge in their own bedroom.
This is one of the most common situations Quietco deals with, and a bedroom is often the most important room to get right because the impact on sleep and wellbeing is so direct.
How to Tell If You Have Holes in Your Structure
Before any soundproofing materials go up, the main cause of the noise has to be found and dealt with. And in most properties, the main cause is holes in the structure, not the party wall itself.
High frequency noise is the giveaway. If you can:
- Make out individual words from the neighbours’ TV or conversation
- Hear the person your neighbour is speaking to on the phone
- Make out words from songs or a radio presenter’s voice
That level of clarity does not come through solid bricks and mortar. It signals holes somewhere in the structure. Usually in the ceiling void, the floor void, or behind door linings on the party wall.
How to check behind the door lining
If there is a door on the party wall side of the bedroom, take off the door lining and look behind it. On this project, clear holes through to next door were found there. It is one of the most commonly missed spots in any bedroom soundproofing installation.
How to check the loft
Go up into the loft, move the insulation aside, and look at where the joists and purlins meet the party wall. Missing bricks, gaps in the mortar, and holes where services have passed through are all common. If you find holes up there, the rest of the party wall is likely to be in a similar state. Until those are bricked up with sand and cement and sealed with acoustic sealant, the best wall system in the world will not get you the result you are looking for.
The Four-Step Method Applied to This Bedroom
Every step of Quietco’s 4-step soundproofing method was followed on this project.
The party wall is just one of several noise paths in a bedroom. Treating it properly while leaving the flanking walls, loft, and floor void untreated will still leave you hearing your neighbours. Every area needs attention for a meaningful result.
Not sure which noise paths are affecting your bedroom? Fill out the contact form to book your FREE noise diagnosis call and Jim will identify exactly what needs treating in your home.
How Every Noise Path Was Treated
Party Wall
The 95mm system was installed to the separating party wall. This starts with sound deadening the wall surface, then the rest of the TPS70W system layers are applied including Maxiboard. This combination of different materials provides mass, isolation and density, absorbing and reflecting the sound.
The key is that none of these materials work particularly well alone. It is the combination and the layering that delivers the result.
Critically, the entire system was tucked up into the ceiling void and tucked down into the floor void below the skirting board line. As Jim puts it, about 80% of the work on any bedroom installation is this tucking process. Cutting around the joists, sealing every gap, making sure the system is continuous from the subfloor to the ceiling void above. The area behind the floor and above the ceiling is still the direct noise path of the party wall, and if you leave it untreated, noise will keep coming through at an angle even after the wall itself is done. More on party wall soundproofing here.
Window Wall
The homeowners were hearing the dog barking clearly down the exterior window wall. The test is simple: put your finger in one ear and press the other to the wall while the neighbours are making noise. If you hear noise there, that wall needs treating.
The TPS65W 50mm system was installed: 20mm rubber sound deadener, honeycomb sandboard, and 15mm acoustic sound block board with two types of adhesive. The system was tucked up and down wherever possible and run up to the first window reveal. If you hear noise all the way down the window wall to the far side of the window, it is worth treating the full wall. If it drops off past the first reveal, treating to the reveal is a reasonable compromise.
Ceiling
The ceiling was overboarded with 15mm sound bloc board. Up in the loft, Rockwool was installed between the joists, followed by mass loaded vinyl, with the original loft insulation replaced on top to maintain the thermal value. The party wall in the loft was also insulated with 100mm Rockwool on the neighbours’ side. More on ceiling soundproofing here.
One important note: do not block up the eve sections when insulating a loft. Cold roof systems need airflow to breathe. If you are unsure about this, get advice before starting.
Floor Void
The 95mm system was tucked all the way down into the floor void and insulated back with Rockwool. Carpet and floorboards on their own offer very little sound attenuation. If you leave the floor void untreated and do not tuck the wall system down into it, noise coming up at an angle from the room below will still get through regardless of how well the wall is treated.
For more on floor soundproofing options, Quietco’s solutions pages cover the different approaches in detail.
Fixtures, Fittings and the Finished Result
Watch the full installation video here:
Once all the soundproofing is in, everything that goes back needs to be reinstalled without compromising the work:
- Electrical sockets: The same materials installed to the wall go behind every socket. An untreated socket can let in 3 to 5 dB of noise. Acoustic putty alone is not the answer
- Skirting and architrave: Refitted carefully in a way that does not bridge the new wall system to the floor
- Flooring: The homeowners chose carpet, which softens sound energy bouncing around in the room. A hard floor on top of all those reflective soundproofing surfaces would make the room feel echoey
- Wardrobes: A sliding wardrobe was fitted rather than a swinging door to maximise space. The system was run all the way into the wardrobe area because that is where the holes behind the door lining were found
The homeowners reported they had not heard the neighbours at all in the early results. Dog barking and conversation through the party wall had both stopped. A full evaluation was planned for four weeks later to do a deeper assessment of any remaining noise.
Research confirms that traffic and environmental noise disrupts sleep quality even when it does not fully wake you, affecting memory, performance, and wellbeing the next day. Getting a bedroom properly treated is not just about comfort but about genuine health outcomes.
If you are lying awake hearing your neighbours and want to know what the right approach looks like for your bedroom, fill out the contact form to book your FREE noise diagnosis call or visit quietco.uk to talk it through.
FAQ
How much does it cost to soundproof a bedroom?
It depends on the size of the room, the number of noise paths that need treating, and whether joist disconnection or floor void work is required. A professional installation through Quietco includes a full survey and quotation. Contact Quietco here for a realistic cost estimate.
Does soundproofing a bedroom actually work?
Yes, when every noise path is treated properly. The homeowners in this project went from hearing clear conversation and individual words to hearing nothing at all. The key is not just treating the party wall but also the flanking walls, loft, and floor void.
What is the best wall system for a bedroom?
For bedrooms where space is limited, a 95mm system like TPS70W delivers maximum performance in a relatively thin profile. It includes a variety of layers providing sound deadening, insulation, mass and isolation. Every layer works in combination with the others rather than delivering results on its own.
Do I need to treat the loft when soundproofing a bedroom?
Yes if you have a loft above the bedroom. Holes in the party wall often run all the way up through the loft space. If you leave those untreated, noise will continue to come in over the top of your wall system. Insulating the loft properly and bricking up any holes found there is an essential part of a complete bedroom installation.
Should I use acoustic putty behind my sockets?
Acoustic putty alone is not enough. An untreated socket can let in 3 to 5 dB of noise. The correct approach is to install the same materials behind the socket that you are using on the rest of the wall system. If acoustic putty offered meaningful attenuation, the whole wall would be covered in it.
